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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism pp 1–10Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Nigeria: Modern Economic Imperialism (c. 1980 to Present)

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Introduction

The roots of the modern system of economic imperialism in Nigeria can be traced back to the advent of European merchants along the coastal areas of West Africa as from the seventeenth century (Stone 1988). This early-stage mercantilism signalled the consequent proclamation of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria by the end of the nineteenth century and subsequent integration of the new colonial territory into the world capitalist system (Smith 1979). Colonialism ensured the total peripheral subjugation of geographical territory of Nigeria along with its markets and products (largely raw materials) to the dictates and vagaries of the markets in the metropolis (Lange et al. 2006). In particular, trade and profit making were the ultimate attention of metropolitan markets and local lumpenbourgeoisie at the expense of the pauperized producers in the colony. Forming the early set of the indigenous elite class, the local merchants and middlemen (lumpenbourgeoisie) merged with...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale

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  1. Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale
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Correspondence to Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Center for Worker Education, Brooklyn College, New York, NY, USA

    Immanuel Ness

  2. Independent Scholar, Belfast, UK

    Zak Cope

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Omobowale, A.O. (2019). Nigeria: Modern Economic Imperialism (c. 1980 to Present). In: Ness, I., Cope, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_149-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_149-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91206-6

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